A-list Coaching Lineup announced for AFLQ Club Development Expo

Simon Black

The 2002 Brownlow Medallist, Simon played in three premierships in his 322 game career with the Brisbane Lions. Simon bas spent time as an Assistant Coach across both the Lions men’s and women’s programs. As an all-time AFL great midfielder, Simon’s insights and philosophy into midfield coaching will be a great assets for any line or head coach looking to coach their players in 2025.

Steve Daniel 

Steve Daniel is a Premiership Coach at Southport, winning the 2018 NEAFL Premiership in his first year at the club. He coached Southport to the 2019 NEAFL Grand Final and the 2022 VFL Grand Final after Covid interrupted the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Steve also coached the Queensland State and Country team. Overall Steve has coached seven Premierships and taken his team into 13 Grand Finals.

Jeff White

Jeff White is a former Fremantle and Melbourne champion ruckman. The ex-Queensland Women's Head Coach also spent time as the ruck coach at the Gold Coast SUNS. The art of ruckwork is a key part of getting first use of the ball to your midfielders. This is a must-see session for coaches looking to provide some critical support to their big players. Centre bounces, boundary throw ins, running patterns, body work are just some of the areas coach Jeff will lecture on.
 

Cameron Joyce

Cam Joyce is a former Gold Coast SUNS AFLW Head Coach and has a long and distinguished career in Australian rules football at the elite and state level. Cam will facilitate the all important tackle curriculum and then run game sense activities so you can take some of the latest content back to your clubs.

Dr Brooke Patterson

A former AFLW star with the Melbourne Demons, Brooke has been at the forefront of developing the Prep To Play injury prevention program with Latrobe University. This session is a must see for a coaching member of U11 to U17 youth boys and girls. This factual and practical session will give you a great insight to injury prevention for your player.

• Prep to Play is a structured 10 minute warm up that includes contact skills (e.g. tackling, ground balls) and a 10-minute strength program in replace of a traditional cool down.
• Clubs who followed Prep to Play saw a 50% reduction in risk of concussion (suspected concussions).  A 10% increase in delivery of P2P sessions also saw a 7% reduction in risk of concussion.  Prep to Play also reduced knee injuries.

Murray Bird

Murray is a former AFL field umpire, AFL Queensland administrator, author and Queensland Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee. Murray will facilitate the Rookie Me Play rotation app which is an ideal session for all coaches, assistant coaches, team managers or coach coordinators. Murray will also give an overview of the support system for clubs; Rookie Me Coach and Rookie Me Club.

Ben Stanley

Enhanced Football

How the day will run

Coaching Stream 1:
 

The coaching stream 1 sessions before lunch are tailored towards supporting senior,  colts (U19), U17 youth clubs and school team coaches. Head Coaches, Senior Assistants Coaches and line coaches will all get a deeper understanding of program philosophy, planning, strategies and tactics aligned to a midfield program.

Coaching Stream 2:

The coaching stream 2 sessions ensure your youth players are best prepared for training and match day. The Prep to Play resources and program has been formulated by experts in coaching and sports medicine to support coaches of youth male and females at all levels. Rookie Me will also facilitate a rotation session to maximise player experience.

Coaching Stream 3:
 

The coaching stream 3 sessions are designed for junior coaches with the emphasis on the junior match program and training. It’s great for first to third year coaches to understand program philosophy, planning, training and match days. Rookie Me will also facilitate the online support through the Rookie Me play program.
 

The 2025 AFLQ Club Development Expo will be held on Sunday, February 16th at St Laurence's College, South Brisbane. To register and learn more, click here